If there’s one thing Apex are good at its weekends to remember, and Snetterton was no exception!
Saturday - forecast showers and at last the weather men are bob on, a dry break in the weather for MG600 qualifying places me 15th and on the 4th row which is ok. I had set myself some goals for the weekend; 3 sprint races, three point scoring finishes and a lap time below 2.10, from 15th - I’m in with a shout.
The first competitive race is the Endurance Superpole, it’s been tipping down for the start and the field is out on wets, however the wind is up and this track dries fast, Adam is out first and I have to make a decision within 15 minutes to give the guys a chance to fit the right rubber, gambol and go for dry tyres as I’m sure its drying out. I’m released P22, there is a drying line however most are out on full wets a couple of tentative laps and the track is dry enough to push on, catching and passing most in my sights 37 minutes in and we are P14 and then the heavens opened. The rain is hard and I wobble round, we are too far in to pit again, two guys on wets gather there momentum and come back past, I’m worried I’m going to lose all the spots when thanks to the lords the chequered flag.
I roll into the garage happy for our position but unhappy as my first MG600 race is being called, I signal to the pit crew it’s too wet for dries and there’s no time for a change, race one is over. Or is it? the guys spark into life and as I watch the grid forming for the warm up lap Skip shouts “come on then”, gloves on I’m up pit lane and make the start line.
Raining hard as I take my position on the grid my visor fogs over, I can barely see the lights as they flick on and off, I fire forward struggling to see ahead of me I am aware of a bike close on my right, barrelling into the first right the bunching of the pack allows me to try and focus I’m passed Slater, this is madness, at last it starts to, and then completely clears and I can see again, into Corams I pass Barnes only for him to pass back in the infield, I chase hard and we catch Norris who splits us, passed and Barnes has departed without me. Lap 8 of 10 and on the start finish straight I miss a gear and get taken by White into Riches, I take him back into the Montreal hairpin, he’s trying to reel me in and shows a nose at Agostini which I promptly and rudely cut off. It’s the last lap and I know White is on my back wheel and press on putting in my fastest lap on lap 10 a 2.23.2 and P9.
Sunday morning and it’s still raining, drying before the first race of the day, this time with the help of Paul from Visorvision my visor is treated and perfect (thanks). The lights go off and it’s as manic as always, I take a tight line into Riches down to Montreal and make up a couple of places, down Bentley Straight Slater passes into Brundle, I must learn to brake later, the clocks showing speeds of 172mph and breaking at the 150 yard board is simply not good enough! The race settles down until I hear an engine behind me in the slow corners, as before into Agostini the nose of the Triumph 675 of White pops up again, I push hard and take a defensive line each lap at Agostini. Last lap flag and suddenly two bikes appear which I pass, running from White again I put in my fastest lap on lap 10 a 2.08.4, this is becoming a habit. P13 at the flag and I feel I’ve worked hard for it finishing just 12 seconds behind Harvey a podium finisher in race 1.
A short lunch break and I’m up again for the last sprint of the weekend, lights out and away and within the first lap I’m in a 6 wheel battle with White and Lund this pretty much is how the whole race is run, White breaks Lund and I and makes a gap (3 seconds) Lund start to pull away on lap 8 and I chase, last lap and I’m still fighting, I close in at Corams and exiting Murrays Lund pulls a celebration wheelie. With both tyres gripping my drive is better and I close up fast, Lund looks over his shoulder aware of my approach and drifts left across my nose closing out my track, I have to give and try to switch, we cross the line 0.08 seconds apart P14.
3 races 3 point scoring finishes and a 2.08.4 job done? Not yet next race is the Endurance.
Its dry and been dry for a while, Adam rolls out of the garage dry tyres cooked just as the rain starts to fall, he goes out on the warm up lap, the clouds don’t look like rain. Lining up for the Le Mans start I tell Adam it’s going to dry stick it out. Lights out and Adam makes a typical Apex start within 2 laps he’s moved from P16 to P5 and first in class. He leads the class for over 20 minutes when Brand makes his move and demotes us to second. A quick change over and I’m out pushing hard I don’t want to lose position or the tail of Brand so Adam has the best chance of revenge and converting our second back into first. After 1 hours and another change we are 14 seconds off first and 45 up on third, Adams out and I’m off for a cuppa.
I wander back to the garage after 10 minutes to find Adam staring at me! Did I miss something surely I’m not supposed to be out yet? OIL LEAK, come on, 8 minutes before I can go back out we lose 4 laps to the leaders, I go out my head is all over the place and ride the bike for the next 30 minutes like I’m back in a sprint race, I pass the 1,000s in the twisties and watch them pass back on the straights, 30 mins pass and we are still 4 laps down.
Another change over and Adams out, 1 lap and back in, the oil leak is terminal.
4 endurance races 3 DNF’s were not happy but that’s racing, we proved we can run at the front and we are determined to take the number one spot, our championship may be over but Apex Racing are not, each race is now for Glory. Pembrey, we love the place and now we are at rock bottom there’s only one direction left, look out guys here we come.....

Apex Racing – Pre Anglesey/Hottrax Junior Endurance Round 3 ... erm 1

OK so it’s not really Round 1, however for Apex Racing having failed to get onto the start grid in the first two races, Anglesey is where it all begins and we have a few scores to settle and some rookies to put back in their box!
It felt like Groundhog Day after the Mallory race weekend; following Brands we spent time and money fixing Adam’s engine and getting out on track and after Mallory more money was required to fix Adam’s engine again and I spent more time on track.....
The good news is the gearbox held out OK it was the engine that launched itself, so back to Mike Hemingway for another strip and rebuild, the guy knows Adam’s engine intimately now and the spare engine Adam picked up has just been cannibalised. Off to Snetterton where Adam played the part of mobile chicane for the morning in the fast group running in the engine; well at least he got a good look at the new 300 circuit that we will race on later in the season. All is working well, some fast laps in the afternoon and then out comes the black flag, not the engine please.....no – the bike is too loud, too loud hmm this really is Groundhog Day. Adam was flagged at Brands for excessive noise, no not in the paddock but on circuit!
So to top off his short interval between track-time a new exhaust system is required - if he keeps this up the spanners will name his bike “Triggers Broom”.....
For me, a more relaxed break; an instructors day with Hottrax at Cadwell was both good fun and allowed me to focus on some of my new techniques that Mike “Get Faster” Dickinson had imparted on me, given the traffic and the ‘here I am’ mandatory instructors orange vest a respectable pace in the 46’s was acceptable.
Despite a crash there last year, Anglesey is in my top 3 favourite circuits, it has a good mix of everything; banked corners, fast kinks and the cork screw and this year we arrive on my birthday (HB Nick – Alfonso) so I hope to be unwrapping some silverware on Sunday to celebrate.
The view from the spectator’s banking above Peel is breathtaking; race bikes, rugged coast, the Irish Sea and Mount Snowdon as a backdrop - if you’re coming we’ll see you on the banking.
Nick Matthews

Just a quick preview from Mike Dickinson of www.getfaster.co.uk before he packs the van for Anglesey...

It’s been a long time since our last race at Mallory Park, too long, I am really
looking forward to our next race at Anglesey next week, the BMW has under gone some upgrades and I’m keen to test them out. We are currently leading the championship so will be looking for another good round to stay at the
top as we enter the summer races.

Big News - I secured another sponsor at Mallory; Team GBmoto (top National Superstock 1000 runners in BSB) have kindly joined getfaster racing with some much needed support. I've been training hard down at the gym & doing my race tuition most weekends so am keeping really busy, we had really good
coverage on MotorsTV again which was great for the sponsors, if you haven’t seen it – make sure you do. All the racing news is updated on Facebook so search for getfaster and keep up to speed with the racing as it happens.
See you soon, Mike

Mallory Park Round 2 - 15th, 16th and 17th April 2011

Tipping into the Apex

Round Two turned into “Groundhog Day” for Apex Racing and no one was impressed, now 50 points behind the Endurance championship leaders after the first two rounds our championship hopes are slowly ebbing away....
Following the disastrous outing to Brands in March we had worked hard ahead of Mallory, complete engine and suspension rebuilds, the mentorship of Mike “Get Faster” Dickinson enlisted to get the most out of additional track time, we were 25 points adrift and this weekend we were on for a win.
Test Day was a mixed bag, the groups were large, time on circuit restricted and traffic was a problem around the short Mallory circuit, putting into practice everything I had learnt, I was hitting 1.00 minute dead, struggling for space and a big push was needed to drop into the 59’s. Exiting the Devils Elbow on the stop and willing drive down the start/finish straight the front complains; big big shake, ‘note to self’ increase steering damping. Adam was in the 58’s we were happy job done.
Groundhog Day, I mean Race Day; qualifying in the Moto Grande 600 put me 19th on a grid of 29 right in the thick of it, Adam was out in the 600 Power Cup and runs a solid top ten and with a last lap faller and jump start penalty he is promoted to 8th second row, respect!
Out in the Endurance Qualifying Race, starting from the back due to a non finish at Brands, Adam works his way up to 12th on circuit and 1st in class before out comes the pace car and destroys our lead and position on track.
Moto Grande 600, Race 1; P 19th may seem a long way back and that’s because it is! The lights go out and I launch myself with the pack, I spot Martin Landmann, ahead he’s quicker than me so I try to follow him into the first turn. Race craft is a funny old thing, as soon as you learn one skill you need another, having worked hard on putting together a lap and on race starts so that it’s no longer ready steady gone. You then have to figure out what to do when 29 bikes all want to enter turn 1 at the same time, Aarrrgggh this is manic.
I lose a couple of spots as I try to ride around the outside, and set about chasing down the guys in front, motorcycle sprint racing is a world apart from Endurance and now I need to reset the head. I finish 22nd and know I need to work harder.

Sunday - a day of highs and lows - Race 2 back on the grid I get a good start and hold my ground, there’s some shuffling around Gerrards but I’m in the thick of a fight, lap after lap I reel in the three guys in front until I’m with them, catching is one thing passing another (as old Murray Walker used to say), we take the last lap flag and its wheel to wheel, around the short circuit there an error in front at the bus stop, I squeeze open the throttle and fire into the Elbow, pulling level on the outside I gas more and run wide, checking the throttle to hook the bike back in I lose half a bike length, over the stripe there is just 0.07 seconds between us and only 1.54 seconds split the 4 bikes finishing 15th to 18th.
18th is not my personal best finish however this race was adrenalin fuelled, I was buzzing way beyond the end of the race, dipped into the 59’s and now confident that I can get into the points in the future, happy days.
Happy days, there’s a statement, still jabbering at 100mph I walk up to the bus stop to watch Adam race in the 600 Power Cup, the guys undertake the sighting laps and I miss Adam going past. Still jabbering I look down on the start line the bikes take their positions and P8 is missing, what the......?

A blown Engine for the second time, on the sighting laps and less than 2 hours before the Endurance Race, while I’m buzzing Adam is feeling poles apart. Weekend over for Adam the second Endurance Race we fail to start and the spanner men have another major job on their hands.
I finish the weekend with a final sprint race, I’m thinking that if I can get a better start and get in the pack earlier I could improve and maybe get pulled around to a 58 and score a point or two. The lights go out and I get away well, into Gerrards and my experience, or lack of it, comes to the fore and I drop 4 spots, determined to make amends I try to carve up the inside into Edwinas, hard on the brakes and my racing buddy Nick Barnes stuffs it up the inside of me, he’s blocked me out and I’m shouting turn as he puts in his block pass, he runs so deep he just makes the corner and forces me down the slip road, through the hay bales, I rejoin in last position, well done me.
Head down I try my best and pick off guys at the back, running in the 59s I finish a disappointing 22nd running the same lap times as the guys in the points, drat, drat and double drat.

Next round is Anglesey and Apex racing have some scores to settle, Adam needs to actually compete or I think he will explode, not the engine. I need to work out Turns 1 and 2 and get some points and in the Endurance only a win will satisfy, see you there.....

Well what can I say about Mallory Park race weekend? Danny Imberg would be a start! Quite what I’ve got to do to beat this man is unsure. Danny is a top bloke and I have to say I’m really enjoying our very fair tussles this season. Practice day was productive but unsure of our pace as we were put in amongst the endurance boys (Karen of Hottrax Fame knew I wouldn’t complain at being out of class!). Bike was once again very precise after the very small changes that had to be made. After my first two sessions I realised I had to make a change to the gearing to eliminate the use of first gear. The bike was very abrupt and unsettled during the transition between first and second gears which was upsetting the bike. Have to say a big ‘thank you’ to Richie for the loan of a rear sprocket. Saturday qualifying was as close as it really could get 7 thousandths of a second split myself and Mr Imberg! Superpole race went to Danny by about 4 seconds, I’m really struggling with the grid starts as I’ve been used to running to my bike for the last forever years during the endurance. Coming out of the first corner in 4th to 5th then fighting for a lap to second is not the ideal way to start a race.

All the Michelin Power Cup riders had a meeting on the Saturday to discuss the fact that no points are scored on the Superpole race which was resolved by the help of Chris of Michelin. It was agreed by all that full points will now be awarded as of the Anglesey round for the Saturday Superpole race.

Sunday started as I thought with a very sound second place only to learn I had been awarded a 20 second penalty for overtaking on a yellow flag. Coming out of Gerrards on the outside in fourth at about 120mph on 12 inches of remaining tarmac I failed to spot the marshall 30 yards to the inside with a yellow flag! Not complaining but thought 10 seconds was the usual punishment for a flag infringement.

Was pretty fired up for the second race after the 20 second penalty and it showed as I led the race from the start for the first 3 laps. Danny passed me going into Edwinas on lap 4 and although I held onto him for 5 to 6 laps my rear tyre was not going to let me keep pressing on without the risk of a crash so had to settle for another 2nd place.
See you all at Anglesey - Wagx

Team BLDS in the National 1000cc Endurance Series

Round 2 National 1000cc Endurance Race

Round 2 moved us to Mallory Park in the sunshine to try and improve our efforts from Brands Hatch. We had learnt a lot from our comedy or errors there and were out to make amends and prove our worth.

On the test day both riders where riding well but had to overcome some tyre wear issues and get used the circuit, Jonty had not been to Mallory for 4 years and the test day was very valuable to get him up to speed. The Saturday Superpole race saw us start from 5th on the grid and Jonty got off to a flying start and was in the lead by the end of the first lap, the pace car was out late in the session and that allowed the pack to close up again but team BLDS were still in front at the first pit stop. Bill was off in his stint setting his new personal best times and really getting to grips with his new Fireblade and the circuit - we finish the session 4th in class and were happy that we are well in for a podium finish in the big event on Sunday.

The sun is out again on race day and the conditions could not be better for the race, however Jonty cannot get the bike started from the line and BLDS are second from last into the first bend. Jonty settles into his rhythm conscious not to try too hard early on and wear out his tyres and himself - after the bad start it’s hard not to get carried away and be too aggressive. A good session sees the team pit in 2nd place at the end of the stint and Bill is away, again Bill sets new personal best times and is well on for his best ride to date holding 3rd place and dealing well with the heat and the traffic. His times slow dramatically at the end of the session and it turns out he has ridden the last few laps with a nearly flat front tyre so the pit crew are straight onto the wheel change as Jonty heads out.

This session goes quickly and the team are again in 2nd place at the pit stop, the team wobble between second and third spot with some great racing taking place and Jonty's final stint sees him out in a close 3rd place - he manages to pass the current leaders on track as they seem to be having tyre issues but only unlapping BLDS - as the pace car comes out again we can see the 2nd place rider Jon Otter (current Michelin cup Champion) 5 or 6 bikes in front but by the time Jonty has passed these bikes Otter had pulled a good gap that Jonty was unable to make any headway into their lead, Bills final stint goes well and we finish 3rd in class.

The team are very happy with the race, smooth stops, no penalties and both riders riding well. Big thanks to all who have made it possible.

What can you really squeeze into the 4 weeks between races; erm quite a lot actually…..

After the disaster that was Brands Hatch there was much to do, I had taken the trip to the Kettering A&E to find that a fractured Scaphoid was evident and explained the pain in my left wrist, the massive under steer and wooden feel at Brands warranted a trip to MCT where Darren changed the top out spring on the TTX rear shock and refreshed the oil, we also agreed to try out some new settings softening the bike a little more for the wet.
Having had the spanners quizzing me at Brands over the strange exhaust note, to which I denied any knowledge, I loosened the bolt holding the silencer on and it immediately fell to the floor! Hmmm went through the noise test OK? So I guess that the reducer I had made specially should have been fitted after all?
Rebuilt and ready to roll a trip up to Mallory for an ACU bike test was called for, I tipped up on Weds 30th at 11.45hrs, it started to rain at, just about 11.45hrs, great. At least I will get to try out the new settings.
The afternoon was not without issue, I lost a rear linkage nut from the suspension (thanks Rob at RJS, without you guys it would have been game over). The bike was still too stiff, bouncing out of Gerard’s and the Devils Elbow, and with an increasingly aching wrist the afternoon ended at about the right time, biggest consolation the bike is talking to me, the wooden feel was gone and I felt more in harmony with the bike.
6 days later and with a further few tweaks from Darren at MCT I was at Cadwell Park, this time as a Track Day Instructor for Hottrax. I was robbed for a camping fee to stay over the night before in the van and at 03.00hrs it started raining, what is it, this is my 5 trip out with the bike in 2011 and every arrival has needed the wets!
Being an instructor is different, Andy and James were great, but even their words of advice couldn’t prepare me for the NOVICE group….
Under race conditions I can hit 150mph down Park Straight, with the novice group I trundle down the hill at 55mph turn to see if the pack are grouped and am amazed that I have left the guys behind, back it up to 35mph and the chasing pack catch me, wow I guess we all started somewhere. Still the Fast Group is low on numbers so some fast laps to keep me sane, the Inters is good overtaking practise and I help a first timer in the Novice group to break his cherry and he leaves with a bigger grin than me, the suspension is working, a good job done.
Next on the to do list is a day being mentored by Mike “Get Faster” Dickinson, back at Mallory and what can I say, this guy is good, he does exactly what it says on the tin, gets “me” faster. The instruction was clear, direct and relevant and I’m not sure how he did it but the day started and remained DRY! I can’t go into detail as it would not be fair on Mike, if you want to get faster then give Mike a call, I for sure will be arranging a follow up day, as for now, I feel dialled in, in tune with the bike and ready for Mallory, bring it on.
I can’t end the report with out a few word about my team mate, having destroyed his Clutch and Gear box at Brands not getting to the start line for either the Endurance or Power Cup, a second engine was purchased, the former rebuilt, new gear box and clutch, heads shimmed and back together in time for the Mallory Track day, massive big up to the spanners and within a heart beat he’s banging in 57 second laps, race day will be ours.
Mallory Park 16th and 17th April, watch out for Apex Racing # 57 …..
Nick

Brands Hatch Indy 11th, 12th & 13th March 2011

BLDS Couriers (Jonty Dixon/Bill Lilly) - Endurance

In the warm up period which now also sets the qualifying time for the new format Super Pole Race Jonty was the fastest in his session and 3rd overall on aggregate timing giving the team a front row start. Bill did very well in his session as he had never been to Brands before the Friday test day but it was Jonty’s time that stood for the grid position.

For the Super pole race it was Jonty who started – if all a little too keen – realising that he would already be penalised for the jump start he set of in hast gaining a solid advantage in the first few laps – unfortunately incorrectly reading the pit board he pits 5 laps early – Bill was not ready for the swap and the team lost lots of time. To add to the problems Bill was soon in with bike problems. So on cold tyres and not fuelled Jonty got back on the track again and the team crossed the line a lowly 26th place. Even though they had the 2nd quickest lap time of the session.

From the start of the main race the track is very slippery and cold and as Jonty heads away from the Le Mans style start he soon realises their luck has not yet changed. A problem with the rear tyre means he cannot put the extra pace into good use and get the team back the front – in fact at the first stop the team are still down the order.

During the race the team have problems with drying track and changeable weather and every time they get the opportunity to claw back some time the pace car comes out and curbs their progress.

Into the final session with team Splitlath Aprilia way in front, 2nd and 3rd spot in the National are achievable, with this in mind Jonty is out for the last session with the aim of securing second on the podium - but alas the pace car is out again and the team can only cross the line 3rd in class.

So after the comedy or errors and a far from normal race - team BLDS Couriers end the race very happy and a little relieved with their first podium finish of the year and some solid points to build on.


Mike Dickinson - Michelin Power Cup

Friday test day was all about fine-tuning the setup from the Almeria test, unfortunately Brands is a totally different track and instead of sorting things we found ourselves making big changes that didn’t really make any difference. I think by sheer luck we stumbled across a setting that seemed to work, we spent the afternoon working on tyre life as the Michelins were tearing really quickly. During Friday evening I was going over all the setup notes & suspension changes I had made during Almeria and Brands test and noticed some conflicting settings that didn’t make sense. I decided to change the bike to what my instincts told me would work and at worst I would use the Saturday as a test day if they didn’t work out.

Saturday - so for qualifying, I left Friday’s tyres on and was pretty confident that the bike would do what it was supposed to - straight away the difference was apparent and it was such a relief that the bike now did as it was told and I could concentrate on riding for a change. The bike wasn’t perfect but at least I had a setting I could work with, qualifying went well and I put the bike on pole with a 49.5s, a couple of really small changes for the Superpole race and we were ready. I left Friday’s tyres on to see how long they would last, as long as I finished top 4 I would be on the front row for the Sunday races.

The race started with me getting the holeshot and leading for 8 laps until Jamie Cox & Daz Bellworthy snuck under me at Druids, I sat behind them for the rest of the race knowing I was on the front row & there were no points for this race; managed a 49.3s which I was happy with and an ideal of 48.5s on the GPS timer. Sunday’s races were looking good with new tyres & a couple more tweaks and I was quietly confident of a good result.

Sunday- woke up to the sound of pitter patter on the caravan roof, so wet races it was then. Changed the wheels & waited for warm-up, my old mechanic from my Ducati days came along to support me (thanks Clint, good luck with the 848 Challenge). Now I normally go really well in the wet, but in the warm I was sure I’d got on someone else’s bike. I had a chat with Clint but the race was almost straight after warm up & this time it was for points so I wasn’t prepared to make drastic changes, I thought I would just do the best I could. Got the holeshot again & blocked every corner for 7 laps until Cox came around the outside, by this stage I was struggling to stay on, the bike was sideways in and out of corners and I fell back to 5th, but to be honest I was lucky to stay on and once again didn’t know what the problem was. We had a 5 hour break until the next race so once again I went through all my set up notes & once again I found an area of concern with the set up - I wasn’t so confident this time with the changes, it would either be good or really bad, experience told me it was the right way and thankfully it was.

The weather had taken a turn for the worse and was really raining hard now, I stole the holeshot again & quickly settled into a good pace, I could see from my lap board someone was catching me and on the 5th lap Gaz Evans came past, he was flying & I couldn’t match his pace so settled for 2nd knowing I now had a wet set up as well as a dry one. So, all in all an eventful weekend, I really learnt a lot about the tyres and the bike.

My starts are good and everybody now knows who’s who! I think it will be a great championship that will only be decided at the last round in October. Mallory Park next on the 16th April, where hopefully we can start with a good setup & have a couple of good races...

Big thanks to all involved & sponsors

www.getfaster.co.uk


Nick Matthews Apex Racing - Endurance + MG 600
 
The first race meet of 2011, this is what we had been working towards for months and now it’s here and its Brands Hatch …..
We arrive late Thursday night and as is now tradition there is no space in the paddock, we squeeze the new for 2011 luxury living accommodation (a £200 caravan) in behind garage 26 and bed down. Early Friday morning we are up and preparing for the day, bacon butties and black coffee.
 
The test day is a challenge for us both, Adam sets straight to work destroying his clutch which with some intimacy he spends the day re-acquainting himself with the inner working of his bike, almost before he’s ridden it, whilst I spend a morning fighting the bike through McLaren and through Clarke Curve trying not to fall off a twitchy rear ended ride. In the Lunch Break I enlist the assistance of Andy Pulling 1491, who like all good mentors, tells it to me straight and readjusts my suspension (thanks Andy you know you love it really). The afternoon is better however with the post lunch session spent tweaking this leaves me the last 15 mins of the day to dial in, still that’s 15 mins more than my race partner Adam.
 
After a restless night in the luxury accommodation it’s Saturday morning, suspension is now working and the clutch is back in. Early practise for me was difficult; I can’t get my head into the game, I’ve lost my mojo and can’t find it?
Qualifying
 
Moto Grande, more like wobbling around at the back of the grid, a 1.00 min dead see’s me qualify last! LAST hold on we were 5th overall last year in the Junior Endurance, LAST!
 
Adam is having more problems with leaking oil and misses vital track time and qualifying and with my best lap at 58.5 seconds in the Juniors we qualify last for the Endurance Superpole and with Adam now assisted by Rich back in the garage stripping the engine again.
 
This is a first for Apex Racing, 48 hrs earlier we were confident of a win and two top ten finishes, oh dear….
 
Endurance Superpole
We are placed 32nd or 33rd I can’t remember other than it was at the back, a grid start suited Adam and with his bike running again the argy bargy at the start of a race is what we needed to move up the field and within 15 minutes he had moved through enough riders to be placed P 12 overall all and first in class. They line up and in Adams words;
“Revs up, clutch biting, red light on, and 1,2,3 heartbeats later the lights go out and 33 bikes scream towards paddock hill bend. 
All that’s going through my mind is that I must force my way through the traffic as soon as possible.
Start 32nd
Lap One       21st
Lap Two       19th
Lap Three     18th
Lap Four       17th
Lap Six                   16th
Lap Seven    12th  plus were 1st in class
Lap Fourteen…. Disaster
Turning into paddock hill bend I change down a gear and something gives, I change down again and something breaks.  The gear selector change shaft has broken, with the bike in 4th gear. The same thing happened to me last year at Cadwell Park.  I’ve not been out long enough to have got a significant lead on all those I’ve overtaken but I have no choice but to coast back into the pits.
Rich collects the transponder from me whilst I stand with a stricken bike stuck in 4th gear at the stop box entrance to pit lane”….
 
A sterling performance by my team mate whilst I supped tea oblivious to the situation outside! Some frantic running around in the garage by the pit crew and I’m out and circulating as best I can playing catch up some 3 laps adrift. I take the chequered flag in erm LAST position AGAIN, can this weekend actually get any worse?
 
Race 1
Adam is out of the Power Cup race, bike is back in bits and Richard is surrounded by cogs and bits of engine, I am called for my first sprint race, big gulp and I’m off. In the holding area I’m told to go to P32, guess that meant there were 32 entries? The track is wet, damp greasy and lacking grip, there are no numbers of such that I could see so I just lined up at the back. A quick warm up lap and its head down, the flag goes up, revs up, lights on and ready, steady, GONE. That ‘s what it felt like, I let the clutch out , a fellow competitor up ahead of me crashed on the start line everyone manoeuvred around him and within an instant the field had gone and left me wondering what the heck!
 
In a nut shell by the time I reached Graham Hill Bend the third corner on the circuit the field had cleared off and left me, a lonely 5 or 6 laps before the leaders caught me at which time I had conceded and taken the decision that I should use the time to try and find my mojo, feel the circuit and bring it home, Nil Points.
 
Race 2
 
Sunday morning and its still cold damp, wet, slippery oh joy. In the holding area I’m told P23, now this is not due to me moving up the grid this is the attrition rate of Brands Hatch in the wet, my third visit this year and I would estimate I’ve witnessed over 70 crashes, mad.
 
Due to the poor start I had yesterday I took some advice from our team manager Skip on how to get a decent start as last year he pulled off demon start after start. The lights go out and this time I pick up the power early and go with the field, I follow the field around the first lap and take my first two scalps into Paddock Hill Bend, a faller at Graham Hill a frantic dash and another scalp coming out of Clark Curve, the laps tick down pretty quickly and a drying line turns the rear end into a mush through the corners, for the last two laps I am convinced there is someone on my tail and I try hard to hold it all together. The chequered flag comes out and I finish 15th a point scoring position (just) and I feel like I’ve just started to get to grips with the circuit.
 
Back in the paddock Adam breaks the news that the second bike cannot be fixed, gear box is terminal and that’s us out of the Endurance Race, round 1 nil points and now the challenge has been laid down, if we are going to take this championship, we need to be better prepared for Mallory Park in 4 weeks and we are going to need a good result.
 
Race 3
 
Just before the race the rain falls and the temperature takes a sharp drop, the track again feels slippery and I’m struggling on the Michelin’s to get good feel. The lights go out for the last race of the day and again I get a good start, this time I take a position into the first corner and get straight onto the back of the pack. After this it all feels wrong, I can’t hold a line and am struggling to read what the bike is telling me, I lose touch and within 3 laps am taken back for the last position. The only positive I can take is that yet again there are fallers at almost every corner. I take a steady course and finally take the flag in 14th position.
 
The weekend is over and not too soon, I struggled with set up, feel and feedback, struggled with confidence and ended up running at the back of the field when I should be running mid field upwards. I did however pick up 3 championship points, so the weekend wasn’t a total wash out unlike our Endurance championship with a broken bike and nil points.
 
After the racing I popped along to the hospital as I’d been suffering from wrist / hand problems and just wanted to get it checked out, turns out I had a fractured Scaphoid from the crash at Brands 10 days earlier, given the results above I doubt it made any difference however its strapped and splinted now, until the next outing that is J.
It’s a long season and there will be many challenges ahead, we have run at most circuits on the remaining calendar and run well, Adams bike can be fixed and I will get out on circuit again before Mallory, see you there !

Friday

We arrive at Brands Hatch and find a corner of the lower paddock to set up the gazebo and pitch the tent, put the bike in place and warmers on the slicks as it is dry but cold.

First session was always going to be about learning the circuit as this was my first time here, I thought I was going to find it a little boring but instantly found it to be quite tight and twisty, just how I like it.

So overall first impressions of the Brands Hatch Indy Circuit are good, and I found it a challenge after a year away from racing and not really riding the bike. I did however find it good practice for getting back used to putting the power on early and braking as late as possible without upsetting corner entry.

During the test session on Friday I did have handling issues with the bike shaking itself violently as I put the power on coming out of Clearways onto the start-finish straight, so the day was mainly used to experiment with suspension geometry changes and set up, to try and dial the shake out. Although I did get to improve it, this meant I went quicker and the problem came back but at a faster speed. So much so that I had to pull out of one session early after lunch as it was shaking the wiring loom connectors loose and the bike was cutting out, so decided it was too dangerous for me and the other riders to be out there. Back in the paddock I rerouted the front part of the loom and taped the connectors together to overcome this.

Not a bad first day at Brands, no times from this day as I have no lap timer but happy that I now know my way around well enough to be able to start to push and I’m slowly learning how to ride around the head shake. I also changed the rear slick for a new softer compound ready for qualifying.

Saturday

Saturday we woke to another dry but cold day, today would see a warm-up session, a qualifying session for grid positions for the qualifying race and then the qualifying race itself for grid positions for the televised Sunday races.
Warm up went well but was short and the changes I made to the bike overnight to try and remove the head shake did not work so was going into qualifying as it was but with an understanding of how to deal with it.

Qualifying – I got out early for qualifying on an almost empty track and managed to put in about 6 good clear laps, the times felt good and smooth so was relatively happy.
After this the traffic started to build and I decided to come in and save the tyre for the qualifying race, but once in thought it was best to go back out and ride as much as I could so went and put a few more laps in.
Final position was 10th on the grid out of 21 with my fastest lap on lap 6 with a 51.7, quite happy with that for my first time here and not a bad start against the guys up front on the quicker BMW’s and Fireblades.

Come lunch time Mike Dickinson comes down to where we were and we discussed how we got on; through the discussion it is decided that I will change my tyres as Mike assures me it will help get the bike back to handling how I like it and am comfortable with. So with the help of Mike Slade of BSB Eurotracks we get the wheels out and the tyres changed in no time at all and they are soon back on the warmers ready for the qualifying race.

Qualifying Race & Race 1 – DRY - 15 laps

This is the first time I have done a grid start since I finished sprint racing back in 2006 EMRA in the Roadstocks. I used to be quite good at starts and was hoping to still be able to get off the line well, but this is the first time ever on a 1000cc bike and it was all different. I got a relatively good start but places are changing in the mêlée of Paddock Hill Bend, I’m also on brand new tyres which had only done the 1 warm up lap so was being a bit tentative before pushing so dropped back some places (must do, can do better).

I eventually get my head into it and made some moves on people but the fast guys up front have gone so get into a mid-pack battle. During the race it is soon apparent that the bike is handling much better and I feel confident to put the power on earlier coming out of Clearways, I also start to gain my confidence and push on starting to feel quite good about being back out and racing.

Grid position 10th.
Final position 9th with a personal best of 50.9 on lap 15.

This puts me on the outside of the grid and a clear run up the outside into Paddock Hill Bend, so not too bad.

On Saturday night Sarah and I went up to the Michelin Hospitality truck for the BBQ and presentations for the day’s race, food was good and it was a great opportunity to meet up with most of the competitors.

During the evening they have a prize draw for items donated by the sponsors of the series; I was lucky enough to win a new rear tyre which I can claim at the next round thanks to Protyre who are providing the tyres for the series.

While we are all at the presentations it starts to rain!

Sunday

We woke to the sound of rain on the tent and a wet and dull morning, the track is wet and it doesn’t look like clearing up either.

So the wets are in and I’m off for warm up, this is only a short session so I feel my way around in the wet on the new tyres, another learning curve as I have never used Michelin wets before. Track feels ok but I’m getting wheel spin on the power out of the turns and find myself sideways a few times, if only it was meant to be that way!

Race 2 - 15 laps - WET - for championship points.

I again get a relatively good start with a bit of wheel spin off the line and again find myself in the mêlée of the first corner, not being the best (self confessed) rider in the wet I hold on to the riders around me and settle in for a couple of laps.

As time goes on I can see not all riders out there are happy and soon start finding myself in a position to pass, with it being the first round I was not sure who these guys are and press on all the same, not that it should matter who they are. As the race goes on the track turns from wet to damp and there is a dryish, very narrow line appearing, this gives me a bit of confidence to push on and I’m soon quite happy with my riding, but the grid is now spread out so I just concentrate on chasing the bike in front & making a few moves; it’s one thing catching up, getting past in the wet is another thing as you have to go off the dry line, but I found with the confidence I have gained through the race I was managing to not let this put me off.

As time goes on I find myself gaining in speed and keep picking riders off and see the last lap flag, one last push on what is now a clear track in front of me so I get a good smooth lap in while at the same time thinking that I should now just finish and not throw all the hard work away and take the chequered flag.

Back at the Paddock old team mate Mark Whiston greets me saying “well done mate I think you came about 6th". This came as a surprise as I thought I was well down the order. We got the timing sheet and it is confirmed, 6th overall ahead of some of the favourites and a 10th of a second off the fastest lap.

Grid position 9th.
Final position 6th fastest lap of 54.8 on lap 15.

Overall, very happy with this probably being my best performance in the wet to date. I felt I rode around the grip problems well and managed to finish the race upright ahead of some of the series favourites.

Race 3 - 15 laps – WET (very) - for championship points.

In-between race 2 & 3 there was a 3 hour Endurance race so we had plenty of time to wait before going back out, during this time we were hoping that the weather would improve so that we would hopefully get a dry race. There were times where we thought it was improving, so much so we put the tyre warmers on the dry tyres and left them on. Towards the end of the Endurance race it started to rain quite heavily so we knew it was going to be another wet race and the track was now very wet with standing water in places.

On the grid we seemed to be held for a while and eventually we saw the flag pointed at the lights to prepare for the start, this again seemed to take an age for the lights to come and when they did I was over eager and jumped forward. Knowing instantly my mistake, I stopped and raised my hand to acknowledge my mistake but as I did so the lights went out and we’re off so I made a rubbish start with most of the pack coming past!

Not letting it get to me I tuck in where I can behind lots of spray with not much visibility, as we come around Graham Hill Bend I see two riders down and sliding up the grass. As I pass I see its Darron Bellworthy and Jamie Cox the front runners and then the red flags are out to stop the race.

On the grid I get approached by the officials to ask if I’m OK and to inform me that my jump start will now not count as that race would no longer count, they inform us that at the restart we would get 2 warm up laps and then a 12 lap race. So off we go and on the first of the warm up laps coming out of Graham Hill bend again I see Rhalf Lo Turco is down so we get another red flag.

Back on the grid again we are informed that we will get 1 warm up lap and now a 10 lap race, thankfully everyone makes it back to line up for the start. The lights go out and I get a massive wheel spin and get passed by several riders again, this time I pass a couple going down Paddock Hill Bend and up to Druids. But the first lap proves to be very slippery and nothing like race 2 and coming out of Graham Hill bend I see John Otter spinning around on the track with riders narrowly missing him, I did expect another red flag but they continued with the race.

I am sliding all over the place and drifting into corners pushing me wide and having to back off to make the turn. Going round Clearways the front slides and tucks a little followed by the back sliding as I put the power on for the drive out onto the start-finish straight. This is not instilling confidence so I decided not to push too hard and get a feel for the track first, all round it is slippery but I start to gain a bit of confidence going into and down Paddock Hill Bend where I seemed to make ground on the riders in front. This went on for about 4 laps where I would catch them and then they would get away because of the lack of grip I had everywhere else. I did eventually manage to pass some of the riders, but the quicker guys amongst them started to pull away a bit and I got my head down to putting in some steady laps and the plan was now to finish the race as catching the quicker guys was one thing, but to pass them meant I would have to try even harder and risk crashing. All through the race the bike was sliding and losing grip as I tried to catch the guys ahead, so when the chequered flag was shown it was a welcome relief.

Grid position 9th.
Final position 9th fastest lap of 100.9 on lap 10.

Overall impressions after reflecting on the weekend are that I’m reasonably happy with my results, it was a new track I had never ridden before and the race day conditions were far from perfect for me. I like Brands Hatch Indy and enjoyed riding it despite me thinking otherwise leading up to it, so will be happy to go back again and race another day.

I have also learned a lot from this weekend with regards to my riding, tyres, geometry and set up. All this can only mean improvement in the races to come and hopefully mean we start moving forward on the grid and my final position in the race.

So off to Mallory next on 15th, 16th & 17th April, some may say this is my home track after racing with EMRA there for 2 years and winning the 600cc Roadstocks Championship. So I look forward to it and the practice in between.

Big thank you to all my sponsors who make all this possible;

Ridgeway Telecom
D6 Racing Designs
J. C. Beale Scaffolding & Brickwork
Credit Limits
Durrants Chattered Accountants
G S Motorcycle Tyres
BSB Eurotracks

And of course a massive thank you to Sarah my Wife for the continued help and support while being made to sleep in a tent! Also thanks to all my family & friends who turned up to support and help me, including the sporting competitor Mike Dickinson for the invaluable tyre advice.

Thank you all very much and see you at Mallory.